100th Anniversary Homenetmen Fresno & 45th Anniversary Fresno Sassoon Chapter

Blog by:

George Ohan

10/4/2018

The Armenian 

community in

Fresno comes

 together for 

a celebration!

100th Anniversary

of

Homenetmen

&

45th Anniversary

of Fresno Sassoon Chapter

- DINNER GALA -

Time to shine those dancing shoes! ;-)

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Cocktail Reception 6:00 PM

*This is when the REAL Fun starts!*

Dinner-Dance and Program 7:00 PM

- Perfect family event! -

Come and enjoy Entertainment by: 

Mr. Vrej Sahakian

Garo and Alice Gureghian

Armenian Cultural Center

Rose Megurdtchian Hall

Address:

2348 Ventura Street

Fresno, California 93721

Only $75 - Donation Per Person

These funds help to preserve our 

cultural values for future generations to come.

Make checks payable to: 

Homenetmen

1480 N. Dewitt Ave.

Clovis, Ca 93619

We apologize about any inconvenience, but

Tickets will not be sold at the door.

We are really looking forward to seeing you at the Gala!

Got Questions? Call us!

Hasmik

(559) 779-4875

or Nishan

(559) 824-5585

Please RSVP by:

October 26, 2018

Look for them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Homenetmen-Fresno-Sassoon-574937129312527/

How to Book a job or gig as an indie filmmaker

DISCLAIMER:  There are many ways of doing many things.  Below you will read about one way of making money as an independent filmmaker.  There may be more effective ways that you like better.  Please take the time to research what works best for you.  READING is a MUST.  If you need help with anything below, you can contact me at georgeohan@gmail.com
-------------------------------------

Independent filmmakers usually have a hard time making money....  Why?  Well,  I think it is because most of them are actually artists, rather than business people.  So, artist....If you no longer want to be known as a "starving artist" please begin to develop habits that will result in booking more work.

The fact of the matter is that the film industry is just like any other business when it comes to producing content.  We NEED customers.  We must SEEK our target audience.  People must KNOW what we do.  This is a numbers game.  The more people that you DIRECTLY ask for business, the more gigs you will book.

This model is based on shooting HD video content and photography for: small businesses, music artists, bands, events, short films, YouTube content, documentaries, and feature length films.

As a filmmaker, when people ask me ,"What do you do?"  My response is,"I'm a producer."  That's when I notice a blank stare.  After seeing this same result several times I knew that I had to communicate more effectively.   The general public does not know that a producer is responsible for: actors, locations, contracts, craft services, equipment, crew, post production, and everything else it takes to PRODUCE one project.  When I explained this information to my potential clients, they took my offer a lot more seriously.

A few of the steps that have increased my chances of booking more work have been:

1.  Set solid goals that I want to hit. Sales, income, follow-ups, social media posts, training.
2.  Gather a minimum of 3 business cards daily (Follow up with email less than 72 hours)
3.  Teach business model to all potential partners/crew so they can book work for us too
4.  Write treatments and pitch to businesses about creating a commercial for them
5.  Advertise on my personal social media TELLING people what I do
6.  Talk to 10 people that I do NOT know daily (Build Relationships)
7.  Research, Research, Research. (Potential clients have a NEED; find it)
8.  Follow-up with past customers and gage satisfaction
9.  Set a minimum of 5 appointments per week to discuss HD content creation
10.  Designate a time for follow-ups, marketing emails, and face to face appointments
11.  Search the websites on flyers and promotional items from various places in town
12.  Update all of contact information on various websites and social media
13.  Have a price list, scope of work, and completion times readily available for clients
14.  I volunteer on many sets just to meet more people and book future gigs
15.  Offer much more than just HD content creation; help with social media too
16.  Ask effective, fact finding, open-ended questions to figure out if a person needs my service

In my opinion it is every crew member's responsibility to help book work.  A producer and a director will have an extremely hard time trying to do this on their own.  It is much more effective when an entire group of people are working closely to book gigs.

Producer, Director, 1st AD, UPM, Gaffer, Grip, Editor, Art Director, VFX artist, Production Designer, can all help with the mission of booking gigs.   If your team knows that the producer can make it happen once the job is booked, you will be much more successful.

You MUST talk to a lot of people.  They MUST know what you do.  You MUST effectively communicate your objective.  Follow-ups are a MUST.  Professionalism and proper presentation is a MUST.

Our work can be seen at www.signaturexavier.com 


DISCLAIMER:  There are many ways of doing many things.  Below you will read about one way of making money as an independent filmmaker.  There may be more effective ways that you like better.  Please take the time to research what works best for you.  READING is a MUST.  If you need help with anything below, you can contact me at georgeohan@gmail.com

@georgeohan on Instagram

signature xavier, george ohan, ohan, gigs, book, indie , film, HD, content, social media, work, make money, independent, movies, hollywood, ca, Armenian

Why do I need a blog?

The purpose of my blog is to document how I'm feeling, thinking, and blog whatever I'm willing to express at this point of my life.  If someone else comes across the words, videos, or art that I post it should have some thought provoking affect on them.  As for me, if I've posted anything to my blog it's only because I've had a thought provoking situation in my life.  This is a free space to read or write anything that I feel like is appropriate at the time that I blog about it.  Anyone that reads my blog is free to express their opinions without a fear of backlash or offending me.  I encourage an educated exchange of thoughts and ideas at any time.

Blogs are valuable because it let's individuals get into a very personal space of other people.  If a person is trying to engage a specific audience they can see what that group of people are blogging about so they will know what is important to them.    Small businesses and large companies alike can use this information to target products and services toward the right clients.  Many companies make marketing mistakes that result in wasting a lot of money because they don't spend enough time understanding who their target audience is.  If those same companies had a social media specialist that understood blogs they can reverse that trend and hit the demographic that they are seeking.

Thank you for taking a moment to read my blog today.  Make each day a masterpiece.

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan

Feature Documentary Film trailer- @Churchfilm - Western Diocese Armenian...

A George Ohan DOCUMENTARY FILM

DIRECTED by Xavier Ybarra

*Creative Producer - Susie Keyvanian
-----------------------------------------------------------

The Armenian Documentary is about raising the issue of preserving culture. The question, are the latter generations losing culture as newer generations are born? Are Armenian parents teaching their children the culture in order to continue the traditions of the culture? Do the newer generations feel that the Armenian traditions are too old? What is the issue this documentary surrounds? By learning of the events that took place in Armenia in 301 A.D. we can ask the question of how deep the church is embedded into the Armenian Culture. Does it belong at the root of the Armenian culture? Or is it only for those who actually came from Armenia and are descendants of the families that were present at that time?

This documentary will take you through the journey of discovery of the Armenian culture. Determined to uncover the truth, Producer George Ohan, has visited all Armenian churches belonging to the Western Diocese searching for an answer. Is the Armenian Church apart of the Armenian culture? Or is it a byword destined to be abandoned to the past by the newer generations? This documentary dares to raise the question... What does Armenian culture really stand for? How big of a part does the Armenian culture play in your household?

http://www.flickr.com/people/armenianchurchfilm/
https://twitter.com/Churchfilm
http://www.youtube.com/armenianchurchfilm
http://pinterest.com/churchfilm/

Religion, Spirituality, and is there a Need for it?

Hello,

My name is George Ohan and I am currently producing a "Feature Documentary" about the Armenian church here in Southern California. (www.facebook.com/ArmenianChurchFilm) I would like to send an email to people in the Armenian community and give them this information.  It would be great to read feedback about their position on some of the topics we are bringing up.  This film is designed to bring up important topics like:

1. Determine why the faith, membership, and attendance practices of Armenians change so dramatically from 1st to 3rd generation for the Armenian Church?

2. Measure the success or failure of the ministry of the Armenian church in America.

3. Provide a groundwork of eveidence for any future study on the need for adjusting the method of ministry of the Armenian church.

4. Does the Armenian church belong at the root of the Armenian culture?

We have already filmed at seven different locations from the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church in Southern California.  At this point we would like to get feedback from the community and add depth to the story behind this interesting project.  Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Emails can be sent to ArmenianChurchFilm@yahoo.com

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan

USMC - I would've been a Marine, but I was too FAT

My father was from Syria and my mother was from Lebanon and they decided on moving to the jungle of the United States of America in 1981; Los Angeles.  Years later we had moved 4 hours north to Madera, CA.   I was 16 years old and it was my junior year of high school.  This was the first time that I had realized there was life after graduation.  As I started to pay attention to what was going on around me I noticed a bunch of students getting ready for college.  My parents had never told me about college; how would they know what it was like to get into an American college?  After all, they were Armenian immigrants.    One thing was certain my family LOVED the United States and felt very American.

I drove to the Marine Corps recruiting office in Fresno, CA and ran into two interesting characters.  One man was Sergeant Vernon and the other one was Gunnery Sergeant Gorsky.  Now, mind you..... I was interested in the Marine Corps because I had heard about 1,000 helicopter pilot stories from my friend's dad; Captain Terry Lewis.  He had encouraged me and motivated me about the American military.  When I walked into the USMC recruiting station I heard,"Ahhhh shit!" Then they started laughing quietly.  I walked further into the recruiting station and I heard,"Wassup my man, Ahahahaha..... Ya man, right here."  Sergeant Vernon was pointing at the weight scale while Gunnery Sergeant Gorsky chimed in with,"You're probably gonna be too fat, but I'll get down your basic info anyways."  He asked many random questions, like my address, phone number, and medical history......but he never asked me my name.

These comments had not bothered me in the least bit.  I was just surprised that the Marines weren't super human like I had been taught.  This was my first time having any interaction with Marines, besides from the neighborhood heroes.  I immediately started to assess my situation and decided that this is not the type of people I want to be around.  Sergeant Vernon spoke as if he was an announcer with a drum roll from Gunnery Sergeant Gorsky,"Twoooooo Hundreeeeeeeed and Thirt Teeeeeeee Fiiiiivvveee pounds!!!!"  I put my shoes back on and without uttering a word I slowly walked out of their office and looked toward the other recruiting stations.  It was 9:00pm and the other stations were already shut down for the evening so I went to Taco Bell and stuffed my fat face before going home.

While I was at home the remarks of the recruiters started to bother me.  I knew I was fat.  I knew I needed help.  I knew I wasn't ready to be a Marine, that's why I was there........and my fu*kin name is George Ohan sir.  At 11:15pm I heard a knock at my door at home and when I answered it Sergeant Vernon stood there with a packet of paperwork in his hands ready to be filled out.  I did not invite him in because I was confused of his arrival.  He told us that the USMC had opened up a few slots with weight waivers, blah, blah, blah.  He started getting very aggressive and rude.  A few minutes later my father asked him to leave and Sergeant Vernon said in a very stern voice,"Sir you need to understand that this is America and this is how the system is.  He needs to come with me to Sacramento tonight."  Sergeant Vernon would rather have me go to the Military Entrance Processing Station and fail the height and weight requirements than to disqualify me as an applicant.  Needless to say, my father was not happy and kicked him out of our home.

The next day I went to the Army recruiting station and came across a Soldier by the name of Staff Sergeant Shenefelt.  I'm not going to say he was the best guy or Soldier in the world, but I can say that he took the time to help me.   I walked into the recruiting station and before he asked me any questions about weight, medical, or law violations he asked about my interests and educational goals.  He KNEW I was fat, just like I did.  He also knew to look past that for a moment.  By the time the meeting was done we had put together a workout plan and assessed that I had to lose 65 pounds to qualify for the Army.   I showed up the next afternoon after school and he took me for a run that nearly killed me.  It was just what I needed.

I lost the weight.  I joined the Army.  All I needed was some motivation from a LEADER outside of my family or close circle of friends.  If you are a person in a power position it is imperative to always be the LEADER.  It took a 10 minute conversation for an Army recruiter to recognize my potential and he gave me a shot.  I strived in the military to be named as "Top Soldier" on many occasions and went on to earn numerous awards and commendations while serving active duty in the U.S. Army.  I had also reached the rank of Staff Sergeant (P) promotable before deciding to become a civilian again.

The point I'd like to make is that I did not let the actions of a couple of people that were not representing the Marine Corps the way they should've been determine my future path.  My reactions to their less than honorable behavior is what set the tone to my future success.  I KNEW I was fat, that's why I went to the Marines......for help.  If someone comes to you and expresses a need, it's probably true and worth further investigation.  This can apply for any situation.  Sometimes people just want to talk.  Someone may suffer from PTSD, low self-esteem, depression, etc... If they're reaching out to you please be a friend, be a mentor, be a leader.......just be there.

Sergeant Vernon and Gunnery Sergeant Gorsky, You were right.  My weight prevented me from wearing the same uniform as you.  No hard feelings though.  I served this country honorably for eight years active duty as an Army Soldier and I feel very privileged for having an opportunity to do that.  Currently I help ALL military branches find work in the Film & Television field through an organization called Vets on Set.  I am also the alumni president for veterans at Los Angeles Film School.  Oh ya, I also belong to a group called Veterans in Film & Television located in Hollywood, CA..... not bad for a FAT boy huh?

Thank you for taking a moment to read some of my thoughts.

Very Respectfully,

George Ohan
George@SignatureXavier.com


@Fresno_Famous

OhanGeorge on YouTube

Armenian Genocide NOT recognized by President Obama

If George Bush hated black people, then President Obama hates Armenian people. 


#IGNORANT statement. -- 


Mr.President, why did you lie about recognizing the Armenian Genocide? Votes? Political gain? Build relations with "allies"? American troops still aren't home, taxes are up, and gas prices are higher than I've ever seen. Keep up the dismal performance Mr.Obama.




There's always tomorrow.


Very Respectfully,


George Ohan